Winter Magic

4.❆

❆

When Avalone awoke very early the next morning it was to the sounds of her stepfamily arriving back at the inn at long last. There was a squabble of noise, none of it pleasant, and Avalone knew her work had begun. She slipped the glass slipper under her pillow, loath to let it go, and stepped out of the room, quietly shutting the door.

Her stepmother was scolding both daughters for their lack of interest in any of the other party guests. Avalone interrupted the tirade, smoothed feathers as best she could and helped all three females to their rooms. The landlord, standing on the stair with a worried look stepped back and thanked her quietly.

He would be glad to be rid of these particular guests.

Avalone ran about helping all three females undress and get settled in bed. Then she started packing and sorting all of the items that had been shifted between rooms. She moved silently so as not to disturb any of the sleeping beauties.

They stayed another night at the inn, and the next morning Avalone drifted downstairs to settle the bill with the landlord and to have all of the boxes packed on top of their carriage.

"Off at last," the man grumbled under his breath. To his utter dismay, the girl paused and looked up at him. Waiting for a scolding he was mortified when tears started to creep out of the corners of her eyes and she began to apologize.

"I know they are such trouble, and difficult to deal with and I tried to take care of them myself and keep them from making too many changes, and I know they were horrible to the girls you sent to help them last night and I really tried but I just couldn't do it on my own and I'm so very, very, very sorry!"

She would have gone on, but he stopped her and apologized for his slip of the tongue. She finished up her business, hurried her charges out the door as soon as they were down the stairs, and bowed once on the way out the door.

The trip back was long and tedious, and no one made mention of Avalone's appearance at the ball. She stared out the window most of the ride, committing the evening of the ball to memory as perfectly as she could. It had been a nice night, after all. Even dancing with the Prince had been an educational experience.

She only wished that the ball had not been her last chance to be a part of the world.

❆

Aleyne paced the floor of the main hall, waiting anxiously for Percival's return. His parents watched him, surprised by his behavior. Morgan simply smiled in amusement.

Eventually, the aide reappeared with a gate guard. The guard looked a little uncomfortable but made his bow to the monarchs. In one hand he held a glass slipper. Aleyne stopped his pacing to stare at the shoe with curiosity.

"This man says that he let the girl in when she arrived and he also saw her leave," Percival explained.

"You are?" Isidore asked pleasantly.

"Daniel Halsey, Your Majesty. I've been a guard here for a little under a year."

"Can you tell us what happened? I'm assuming you saw the girl we're looking for."

"It was a little after sunset when I first saw her, Your Majesty. She was standing away from the gate and looking a bit lost. I went to go see what was wrong and she told me that her party had left ahead of her and she didn't have an invitation. Since we had been told that wasn't an issue, Majesty, I led her in."

"As you should have," the queen reassured him with a smile that made Daniel blush.

"Yes, mi'lady. I didn't see her again till she left; I noticed she was carrying her shoes. She didn't call for a carriage and she was leaving all on her own, so I called out to her to see if I could help her find an escort. She suddenly took off running, but she dropped this..."